Students express ‘grave concern’ over university finances

In the wake of reports that University of Iceland (HÍ) is facing a deficit of as much as ISK1 billion (US$7.1 million) this year, the Student Council (SHÍ) issued a statement on Sunday 29 January expressing its “grave concern” about the situation, writes Larissa Kyzer for Iceland Review.

“It’s clear that the lack of funding has had a serious impact on the school’s basic operations,” reads the statement, and the university council has, as a result, “approved austerity measures that include, among other things, teaching cuts and hiring freezes”. With even further cuts on the horizon for the 2024-25 academic year, the student council fears that the university will be unable to maintain comparable standards to other Nordic universities or adequately prepare its graduates to be competitive on the international labour market.

SHÍ says it has been vocal about its concerns regarding funding at the university on a number of occasions, most recently in its comment on HÍ’s 2023 budget. SHÍ’s president has also “repeatedly raised the issue and the seriousness of the situation with the minister of higher education, science and innovation, as well as the fact that the university budget does not correspond to the priorities or goals that the new Ministry of Higher Education has outlined”.
Full report on the Iceland Review site